Loosen Your Grip

We're often advised to 'get a grip' when we're stressing over something or feeling irritable.
In these times of quarantine, it might be easy to find ourselves parked in these spaces of worry or frustration.

I'm eating a carrot stick and suddenly wonder whether I washed my hands first.  And didn't I just bring in the mail and forget to sanitize my hands? One day I decided to use bleach to wipe down the counter and then worried that I was breathing fumes that might make me more sick than Covid-19! If I pick up groceries do I need to wipe down each item when I get home? And how many swipes can I get out of one wipe and have it still be effective to kill the virus? Today I turned a doorknob open that someone else outside the family had touched.  Rather than use my bare hand, I had turned it with my sweater hem.  But I didn't change my sweater, so did my clothes get contaminated?  Oh, my!  How crazy we can drive ourselves!!

With zooville thoughts running rapid, it's not too hard to jump into that snappy voice and call out the hubby for his huge infraction of standing in front of the cabinet just when I intended to open a drawer.  Nights seem long when you wake up and can't get back to sleep. Negative thoughts run through my brain at pre-dawn hours, like cockroaches boldly trespassing in kitchen sinks when the lights are out.

But we all know that you can't always chide yourself out of the rut, no matter how often you try.
I've found the better way, not necessarily easier way, of letting go and actually loosening my grip. I listened to a sermon yesterday by Steven Furtick from Elevation Church about letting go of our control and trusting God. It was given as encouragement in this pandemic time. You can listen to it here. Great words for today!

While lifting weights one day, his instructor told him that he would be able to lift more weight if he didn't have such a tight grip on the bar. What a great analogy for our lives!  We'll be able to carry more, deal successfully with more of life's stresses, if we loosen our grip and let God lift our heavy work.

Loosen Your Grip!  Let God Do the Heavy Work!

This reminded me of the cruise Kevin and I took to Alaska some years ago. When I signed up for several excursions, I included a zipline adventure-not because I wanted this "fun" amusement ride, but my husband did. I hid my worries about this kind of high adventure, for his sake. But when the dreaded day arrived, he realized my anxiety.  We awoke, well he did, I was 'awoke' most of the night, to a dreary, misty morning.  I hoped with all my heart the trip would be canceled. Several other excursions were canceling because of weather. I drug him down to the service counter to find out if ours was still on.  "Yes", the desk attendant said, in much too cheery a tone.  "Days like this make the ziplines go even faster." This only added fuel to my nervousness!

After the bus ride to reach higher ground, getting fitted with harnesses and helmets, and after signing the waiver that I was agreeable to possibly falling to my death, we were tethered to wires and began the grand adventure. Before sailing downward, we had to walk across ropes and narrow planks, maybe to weed out the faint of heart, but I made it through all the tests. (Kevin was smitten with guilt for causing my distress, especially after seeing our obstacle course).  We finally approached the first zipline. We had been told numerous times that the cable we held on to would hold and we would not fall even if we let go of the cable that attached us to the overhead wire. The instruction for zipping was to grip the cable in our hands lightly and let our weight sink into the harness we sat in.  After reaching the end of the first ride, I realized my hands were hurting.  I had gripped that cable with all my might, as if I was hanging onto  a rope swinging out over a swimming hole!  As I continued the course, I began to relax in my saddle.  My hands only touched the cable to keep my body upright, and I even let go once and waved, very briefly, well, actually if you blinked you would have missed it. After the last zip, I breathed a well done, confident sigh. I had conquered my fear!  But the point here is, I had learned to loosen my grip and let my harness carry me.

Let God Be Your Harness.  He Will Carry You and Never Let You Down!

Instead of letting those crazy thoughts consume me, I'm finding peace in saying, "God I can't protect myself perfectly. I'm trusting you to keep me safe and healthy.  I'll do what I can, but ultimately, you're bigger than all this and you are the Healer and my Peace."  Those nights when sleep hides from me, I set my mind on God's attributes and gifts.  I whisper, "help!" to the Holy Spirit, and "here are my thoughts.  I've collected them as best as I know how, and I'm bringing them captive to you." His peace is guarding my mind whether I feel it or not, and that brings me comfort. 

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. Phil. 4:6-9 MSG